


The Hacker with the Glasgow Grin

by DancingRanger



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Ana has mostly forgiven Widowmaker, Ana is such a mom, But Sombra won't talk for food, Can Tracer forgive Sombra?, Food is always good, Gen, Implied/Referenced Torture, Mercy might have found something, Multi, Nightmares, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Post-Talon Widowmaker | Amélie Lacroix, Sombra likes food, Sombra will talk about Tracer, Tracer feels bad for Sombra, Tracer tries to comfort Sombra, Unexpected Visitors, Why is Sombra so afraid?, Widowmaker can be comforting, Will Sombra accept the offer when it comes?, are they ready?, someone didn't get the memo, the calm before the storm, the mission begins, things are about to go down, things will happen, unexpected encounters
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-12
Updated: 2017-06-13
Packaged: 2018-10-02 23:17:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 19
Words: 15,761
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10230140
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DancingRanger/pseuds/DancingRanger
Summary: Sombra was found during an Overwatch raid on a Talon base broken in many ways after a failed attempt to recondition the untamed shadow. Now she must patch herself together while dealing with things she'd done in her past.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'd like to thank bzarcher for inspiring me to write fanfiction again, and my amazing gaming buddies for putting up with all the bazillion questions I've been asking regarding this fic. I only hope you guys will enjoy it as much as I am writing it.

Sombra’s eyes opened to stare at an unfamiliar ceiling, it’s dull grey not the same as the crusted black of the holding cell that she’d been calling home. Blinking she heard voices from the doorway. 

“Lena, I know how you feel about her, but you  **_saw_ ** the state of the cell she was in.” Sombra was mildly aware that the voice drifting through the cracked door was that of Overwatch’s best medic. The biggest part of her couldn’t fathom why she was hearing that voice. Had her mind broken that badly? Regardless of Sombra’s thoughts the voice continued. “Talon has obviously tried to do something to her. What and why? I cannot tell you. All I know for sure is that if we’d left her there, she  **_would have died_ ** _. _ ” There was a heavy huff of breath, as Lena’s voice suddenly came into being.

“I don’t  **_CARE_ ** what Talon did to her; I  **_DON’T_ ** trust that dirty little thief.” There was the sound of Lena pushing past Angela, then her footsteps echoing loudly down the hall as she stormed off to some other part of the building. Angela sighed softly, the sound not more than a whisper, yet echoing in the silence of the younger woman’s sudden departure. The door creaked open and the angelic form of the medic stepped in. She was still clad in her Valkyrie suit and looking fully the part of an angel. Her eyes fell upon the bed and noticed that her patient was looking back at her.

“Oh! You’re awake.” Heels clicked on the tile floor, as Mercy moved forward to look over her prone charge, “ Do you feel any pain?” The question confused Sombra, why would she be feeling pain? Stirring slowly, Sombra attempted to sit up only to fall back to the bed as her body was racked by a wave of intense pain. Ah, that pain, her mind whispered. She must have made a noise because the ruffled angel flew into a flurry of action. Within moments the doctor had a syringe, and was gently holding Sombra’s arm to inject the pain killer. Seeing the needle Sombra’s mind swarmed into a panic, memories of being injected with unpleasant serums over rode her ability to understand what was really happening. She struggled against the surprisingly strong hold that Mercy had on her arm.

“You’re okay, I’m not going to hurt you” The words fell on deaf ears. Frightful that Sombra’s struggling would trigger more injuries Mercy called for help. The sounds of another person arriving also fell upon deaf ears, and soon after the dark embrace of a dreamless sleep cradled Sombra’s weakened mind once more.

 

* * *

 

The next time Sombra came to the room was dark. The hallway silent. In this moment the world was quiet, which didn’t last long when a low groan left Sombra’s lips. She slowly turned her head looking around the room, trying to see into its darkest corners. Nothing seemed to be lurking in the shadows, at least not from what Sombra could see. She lifted a hand to run it through her hair only to find it restrained. The panic that had barely kept itself hidden under a mask of uncertainty was loosed like a broken dam.  _ They  _ were watching her, hiding in the dark, waiting for her struggles to weaken. Waiting for her to tire so they could do those things to her. Sombra put all of her energy into getting out of the bonds that held her that she didn’t realize how much noise she’d been making. Without warning the door flew open, flooding the room with a bright light and a shadowed figure. The figure rushed to her side cursing under it’s breath.

“I should have known you’d be wakeing soon” The familiar but unfamiliar voice caused Sombra to freeze. Her eyes adjusting to the light spilling into the dark space, it was  _ her _ . It was the battle medic codenamed Mercy. Who’d taken advantage of the sudden stillness of the panicked hacker. The cuffs fell away from freshly bruised wrists and gentle fingers stroked the back of trembling hands. 

“Look at me, I’m not here to hurt you. I want to help.” The doctor’s voice was steady and soothing taking away much of Sombra’s panic. The hacker’s indigo eyes found Mercy’s face and the doctor could see the fear still plainly visible. It took a lot of willpower for Mercy not to pull the other woman into a strong hug and cry. Instead Mercy opted to sit on the edge of the bed, and let Sombra decide what she wanted. The hacker rolled over onto her side, her back towards Mercy, and remained that way until her stomach growled. 

“I’ll get us something to eat.” Mercy didn’t wait for a response before getting up and walking out of the room. She closed the door behind her and let out a tense breath. She hadn’t expected to be caring for one of Talon’s own when she’d been paged to the hanger. She expected an agent that Talon had been lucky to catch, or maybe a civilian that they’d decided to ‘play’ with, not the cocky, overconfident hacker. She hadn’t been prepared for what she’d see in the hanger.


	2. Chapter 2

The first thing Mercy saw upon entering the Transport's hanger was Tracer storming down the entry ramp. The brunette's face was the embodiment of poorly restrained fury, her chronal accelerator was pockmarked with a small amount of damage. She was probably angry with herself for letting it be damaged, Mercy concluded swiftly. Tracer’s expression didn’t change as she shoved past the still Medic, and into the hallway where she disappeared from sight. Mercy didn’t linger any longer, she’d see Tracer soon enough in the medbay, and headed for the entry ramp. Agents milled about as they unloaded things taken from the Talon base that had been the target of the day’s mission. There was an ample amount of quiet chatter, but it didn’t sound as celebratory as it should have been after a successful mission. Mercy was about to ask when she heard Reinhardt’s massive footsteps. 

The armour clad man was a sight to see on a normal day, but today he looked downfallen. A dark shape followed him, and Mercy quickly recognized it as Widowmaker. The ex-Talon sniper was subtly fretting at the Crusader’s elbow, watching the bundle he carried. Mercy watched as a part of the blanket shifted showing a head with dark thick hair, with faded purple at the tips. If that wasn’t enough to identify the bundle as Sombra, the dully glowing neural implant that snaked it’s way around her head was. Had this been why Tracer was so angry? It was no secret that she hated Sombra, but why was she here? Mercy jogged over to Reinhardt and stopped as Widowmaker spoke.

“Talon did this.” At first Mercy wasn’t sure what the assassin meant, but when Reinhardt lowered the blanket wrapped Sombra so she could get a better look at the prone figure she understood perfectly. 

“Ana sedated her. We couldn’t get close enough without her screaming bloody murder.” the massive man’s voice was nothing more than a whisper, at odds with his usual booming self. “We couldn’t leave her. Not with what Talon has done before. . .” He trailed off looking over at Widowmaker, whose face remained unreadable despite the concern hidden in her gold eyes. 

“Do not worry. It wasn’t my choice” Widowmaker’s voice was quick and precise to respond. “I fear Talon tried to do to her as they did me.” Mercy’s eyes widened. Reconditioning someone was tricky business, and she wasn’t sure if she had the ability to help someone if they were in the broken state between solid identities. 

“Let’s get her to the Medbay. Hopefully the damage looks worse than it is.” Mercy stated trying to keep her voice steady. This wouldn’t end like it did for Amelie, not this time. 

 

The walk to the medbay was silent save for the clicking of her and Widowmaker’s heels, and the sound of Reinhardt’s armour. He’d refused to let Mercy take Sombra from his arms so he could remove his armour, to which Mercy merely shrugged. Upon arriving to the medbay Mercy was happily surprised that Tracer wasn’t there yet. The angry agent had probably gone to Winston first, to get the accelerator looked at. It was a small blessing Mercy supposed, before turning to the two who’d accompanied her. 

“So, I should be asking if the patient needs immediate major care, or if I can fully examine her first.” She paused there and looked between them “I’m going to guess that I have time to fully look over my new charge. Yes?” Widowmaker nodded before making sure the sleeping Hacker was bundled tightly in the blanket. Once the assassin was happy with that she took Sombra from the arms of the now protesting Reinhardt.

“Let me do the lifting, I wouldn’t want to see you hurt yourself” Widowmaker ignored him and turned to Mercy.

“Which room?” Mercy just gestured to the one closest and looked to Reinhardt as Widowmaker left.

“Tell me how she was found.” Reinhardt shock his head.

“You’ll see soon enough. They’ll want you at the debriefing once you’ve looked over her and Tracer.” and without another word he turned and left the medbay. Mercy knew he’d be back later to check on Sombra. His heart knew no distinction between friend and foe when it came to someone who needed help. 

 

* * *

 

Lena sat on the edge of Winston’s work bench angrily kicking her feet. She was watching the massive gorilla as he worked on the chronal accelerator.

“Sorry, Winston. I swore I blinked out of the way.” Her tone was low, with a little anger echoing in. Winston looked up from the damaged piece of equipment and at petite agent.

“But there is something else bothering you” his voice rumbled deeply in Lena’s bones making her feel like she was vibrating. Huffing she looked away from Winston. 

“It's nothing.” she snipped a bit too quickly. Winston leaned back on his tire to fix Lena in a hard stare. She attempted to ignore him, but she could only take so much before she cracked. Groaning she continued “Okay! Fine!” She turned to him before continuing. “It's  _ her _ !” Winston shrugged and indicated for her to continue to which she huffed again. “That  _ dirty hacker _ !” 

“You mean Sombra?” Winston interrupted gaining a full angry glare from Lena. She knew the hacker’s name, and he knew she refused to say it. “What about her?”

“Ana and Reinhardt found her.” There was venom rising in Lena’s voice “Found her in a holding cell, said she was all cut up. They said Talon did it to her.” her voice rose in volume “I don’t believe a word of it!” Winston hummed and looked at the unharnessed accelerator. 

“You know what Talon did to Widowmaker -” he was cut off by Lena nearly shouting at him.

“Yeah so they could send her back against us!” She barely held back the growl that threatened to spill from her throat. “What makes  _ Her _ any different?” Winston sighed and fiddled with the accelerator, it was functionally fine, but he didn’t want to tell Lena. She would storm out as soon as she had the chance, and he needed to calm her if he could.

“That is true, Lena. But what if Talon failed and she’s nothing more than a victim that needs our help?” Lena refused to answer him and he continued “Look at Widowmaker now. She’s broken the hold Talon had on her, She’s becoming her own person again.” Winston looked at Lena, she was biting at her lower lip and her fingers were fidgeting in her lap. He was right and she didn’t want to admit it. “Promise me something, Lena.” She looked at him still angry, but silently listening. “When you calm down you’ll talk to Angela, and maybe check up on Sombra.” Fresh anger flashed across her features and Winston held up his hand. “I know you hate her for what she could do with the information she stole. But it may be time to let that go.” Lena gave him a blank stare non-verbally telling him he had to be joking. “I’m not saying forgive her now, just to give her a chance, okay?” She sighed and looked to her fidgeting hands.

“I don’t think Mercy’ll want to see me again today. Went to her after I had a round with the training bots . . .” Winston internally flinched, She usually blew off all her steam with a single round in the training grounds. If she was still this energetically angry he didn’t want to know what she was like with Angela. 

"I’m not going to ask what happened, but I’m sure she’ll see you” At this he made a bit of a show of reattaching the leather harness to the main part of the Chronal accelerator and handing it gently to her. “I’ll have a replacement covering done in a few hours, but I want you to spend the rest of the day calming down” He knew that he was playing with fire telling Lena to calm herself. But she could always use the reminder. Without another word between them, Lena donned the accelerator and left Winston’s lab. He watched her on her way out hoping she’d find a little peace before she came back.   



	3. Chapter 3

When Angela returned with the small bit of supper she’d been left. She wasn’t too hungry, being more concerned about Sombra who’d spent the greater part of twenty-four hours asleep. She was surprised to find her sitting up in bed. Sombra had tucked her knees to her chest, her chin tucked behind them.

“Here, I brought you something to eat” Sombra’s eyes fell on the plate that Angela was now offering her. All of the foods were things edible using fingers. Sombra eyed the plate hungrily but seemed reluctant to reach out for it. When the plate was sat on the bed beside her she reached over with delicately thin fingers. She plucked a grape from the pieces of fruit and slowly brought it up in front of her face. Sombra regarded the grape for a moment before she ate it. She repeated the process with a piece of cheese. Her eyes drifted close after a few more pieces, and Angela smiled. Sombra as broken as she was, was showing a remarkable amount of  trust to her. 

“Must be pretty good?” Angela asked softly as she sat on the bed to watch Sombra a bit more closely. The Hacker was more relaxed and when her eyes opened to look at the woman that had spoken to her, Angela couldn’t see any trace of fear. She knew that’d change as soon as she’d start the tests that still needed to be run. Angela hoped that when the tests began that Sombra would trust her enough to be calm. Sombra looked at the plate, still half full with fruit, minus the grapes and cheese, before nudging it towards Angela. There was a moment where the two watched unsure of what to do, until Angela picked up a piece and ate it. Sombra’s lips attempted to twitch into a smile as the two shared what was left.

Morning’s light had started to stream through the window when Sombra gave Angela a particularly sleepy blink, and snuggled down into the thick blanket that had been used to wrap her up. Yawning Angela stood up and watched as Sombra nestled even further into the covers. 

“I’ll let you get some sleep. I’ll be checking on you in a bit.” There was no answer as Angela walked out and started her morning routine. 

 

Over the course of the next few days, Angela fell into a new daily pattern with Sombra. She’d check on the hacker in the morning, they’d share breakfast, she quickly learned Sombra wouldn’t eat if she didn’t. Angela would then start her paperwork and regular tasks until lunch when Fareeha, and sometimes Widowmaker, would stop by. They’d eat together in Sombra’s room and share softly spoken stories. Sombra seemed to enjoy the quiet company, and definitely enjoyed the chickpeas that Fareeha was fond of bringing with her. After lunch Angela would excuse herself to return to work, Fareeha would stay with Sombra a bit longer trying to converse with the mute hacker. There had not been any success, much to Angela’s displeasure. She hadn’t heard a single word from her patient, she was almost afraid that Talon had done something to her ability to speak. Widowmaker assured her they wouldn’t have, but the evidence suggested otherwise. She was wondering on that when a sharp knock on her office door brought her out of her thought induced trance. Angela looked up in time to see the door open, with Lena standing in the doorway.

“Hey, Angie.” Lena’s voice was unsure and Angela waved her in. Lena stepped in speaking softly “I’m sorry I was a total arse the other day.” She paused a few feet from the doctor’s desk. “I shouldn’t have taken my anger out on you.” The brunette stopped there and looked at her fidgeting hands, she didn’t want to disappoint Angela further. The silence between them thickened and pressed heavily upon them.

“You are forgiven.” At those three words Lena visibly relaxed and sighed, warm brown eyes quickly jumped up and found Angela’s face. There was no sign of anger or any indication that Angela had been or was still upset with her. 

“I talked with Winston about . . . You know.” Lena gestured towards the general area of the medbay, clearly indicating its current non-staff resident. Angela straightened up before replying.

“And what did he say?” 

“That I should believe she’s just a victim.” Lena paused and then nearly whispered “And it’d be nice of me to check on her.” Angela made a face and ruffled through some papers

“As much as I agree with him, I cannot allow you to potentially upset my patient” Lena gave Angela an abashed look and the Doctor continued not giving her a chance to speak. “Lena, she’s suffering from severe post traumatic stress, and isn’t suited to be able to cope with someone who isn’t prepared to mend bonds. Not to mention she won’t say a word to me, or any other person who’s tried to get her to speak.” She pulled out a file, Sombra’s, and opened it. “I’m going to ask this once, Have you seen what Talon did to her or did your anger blind you?” Lena stayed quiet and looked back at her hands.

“I didn’t care to look” her voice came out sounding tiny and weak. Angela slid the file so that Lena could see it. Lena looked up at it and gave a sad look. The file had been opened to a pair of pictures that had been taken upon Sombra’s arrival to the medbay. Lena stepped forward and took a closer look. The one image showed the hacker’s entire body, after being redressed, with most of her visible skin bruised or scarred, conveniently her face wasn’t in that one. The second showed the latina’s face. Lena shuddered as she looked over the skin that had become marred by the scars. The most prevalent were the ones that cut across her cheeks, leaving a unsettling ghost of a grin. “I thought no one did that anymore. . .” Lena whispered staring at the image. Angela closed the file and replaced it back into it’s spot.

“What Talon tried to do was break her, Lena, and they did a great job of it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so after a short experiment I've decided that updating twice a week is very possible. With that I will be attempting to update on Saturdays and Tuesdays. So I'll see ya guys again Tuesday!


	4. Chapter 4

When Lena left Angela’s office she was in a state of loss. She still couldn’t bring herself to forgive the Hacker, not after what she’d done to her, but at the same time she couldn’t deny the images she’d been shown. Lena would never had wished that upon Sombra. She wouldn’t have wished that upon anyone ever. She wandered around the base lost in thought. Her heart wanted to stay angry for the fact that Sombra had nearly erased her from the world,but the anger there now only felt empty. Angela insisted that Lena couldn’t see the hacker until she’d come to terms of why she’d been so angry with her. It was easier said than done she mused. She’d never told anyone how Sombra’s knowledge of the Chronal Accelerator had nearly caused her to be lost to the slippery stream of time again. She still had nightmares of the Hacker’s cocky laugh echoing in her ears as she felt the cold tendrils of the void gripping her heart. Lena shook her head violently she didn’t wish to dwell there. She hadn’t noticed she’d wandered to the lounge where Genji and Zenyatta had been meditating. The two looked to her as she awkwardly tried to back out of the room.

“Come here, child.” Zenyatta’s soft voice froze her in her tracks, and she followed his instruction coming to stand beside Genji. The cyborg got up silently and retrieved another cushioned mat for her to sit on. Which she did without being asked. “Something is troubling you. Do you wish to speak to us about it?” Lena didn’t meet Zenyatta’s gaze instead opting to focus on a point on the floor just in front of her mat. She was silent for a long moment while her mind reeled. She hadn’t told Angela, even though the doctor had pressed her for the reasons she didn’t like Sombra, and she definitely hadn’t told Winston, poor guy’d worry over her more than he already did. Was she really ready to let anyone know the fear that often plagued her mind? The fear that Sombra, or some other hacker, could just snap their fingers and she’d go ‘Poof’ and disappear. Was there more to it? Zenyatta let out a soft hum, and laid a gentle hand on her shoulder. 

“I can feel a storm of emotions in you. But do not feel pressured to speak of it unless you are ready to.” His words were reassuring, and just hearing them made Lena feel better. She sighed and looked at the Omnic and tried to give one of her trademark smiles.

“Sorry Luv, not today. I think I have to come to my own terms with it first” Zenyatta nodded and brought his hand back to rest in his lap.

“When that time comes know that my door is always open, and you are always welcome. If you’d like to stay here with us, you are more than welcome to do so” Lena thought about getting up, but decided that maybe it would be a good idea to take the time to stay. 

 

* * *

  
  


After Lena had left her office, Angela got up sighing. She had seen the conflict of emotion on the brunette's face as she pressed for the reasons why Lena stayed so angry at Sombra. Angela rubbed her temples, a headache beginning to set in, she wasn’t any closer to figuring out that mystery, and she still had another to crack. Deciding that she could use a bit of quiet away from her desk, and that it was also a good time to check on Sombra. 

“Sombra.” Widowmaker’s voice drifted softly from the open doorway as Angela approached it. She paused not wanting to interrupt. “Look at me.” The assassin’s voice was gentle, much gentler than many would guess she could sound. A sigh filled the void, left by a half spoken conversation. Sombra was apparently not doing what Widowmaker would have liked. Angela found this to be the perfect time to step into the room.

“How have you been doing?” She asked, the question not really directed to either of them. Sombra shrugged not really seeming to mind what was going on. Widowmaker looked to Angela from where she sat cross legged on the foot of the bed.

“I’m well. Haven’t made much progress.” Angela nodded and sat in the chair next to the bed. She watched as Widowmaker turned back to Sombra. There was a pause when the hacker’s eyes wandered to the hand that Widowmaker had raised. With a sigh the hand was lowered and two cast their gazes elsewhere. “It isn’t easy for me, to comfort you. That’s what you did best, Sombra.” Widowmaker slowly stood with a certain grace to her, a holdover from a life that was long gone to her. Sombra shifted and laid down. Angela took that as a hint that Sombra was done being bothered for the time, and she and Widowmaker left the room together. Once the door had shut Widowmaker gave a deep sigh, it held a slight amount of frustration.

“I know how you feel.” Angela murmured softly “Trying to get someone to talk when they don’t want to is not easy.” The taller woman nodded.

“She’s always been stubborn.” Widowmaker sounded museful “Maybe, Talon didn’t break her as badly as they did me.” Was there a hint of hope in the sniper’s voice, Angela couldn’t quite tell. “I’m leaving for a few days. I don’t want another ‘become a hero’ speech.” She paused and looked at the doctor, a slightly lost look in her eyes.

“I’ll keep you informed if anything changes. I know she knows you care and are worried about her. I think she’s still trying to figure herself out again.” Like you, Angela added silently as she watched the other woman nod and leave. It only took a moment for Angela to return to her desk, and a moment before the headache set in fully.


	5. Chapter 5

Over the years Angela had learned that food was a great equalizer with stubborn patients. She hadn’t met many that weren’t swayed by food. Sombra, however, proved to be a special case. If given or promised a snack before a exam or test she’d comply completely with no problem. That hadn’t transferred over to getting her to speak. That was a losing battle even with the extra motivation. Angela was watching as Winston attempted to get Sombra to speak with him. The three had shared lunch, the food having settled Sombra to a small extent. The Hacker had been warily curious about the case Winston had brought with him. Angela had to admit she wondered what was in it as well. Winston lifted the case to sit it on the bed in front of Sombra, as she rarely sat anywhere else. He unlocked it while he spoke softly.

“When we extracted you, we were also able to recover your kit.” The lid was opened and inside was a few of her translocators, her machine pistol, and the outfit she usually wore. Sombra untucked herself from the slightly curled position she’d been in. “We haven’t touched any of it. I wanted to ask your permission before anything was done to it.” Sombra reached into the case and lifted one of the translocators and turned it over looking it over. It’s weight was familiar and oddly calming to her. Winston watched with an expression of curiosity that he often wore.

“What do you plan on doing with that, Winston?” Angela asked breaking the silence that had settled on the room. Winston looked at the blonde before reaching up and scratching the side of his head. 

“I wanted to look over it so that I might improve Lena’s accelerator. Make it a bit smaller.” Sombra’s head shot up at Lena’s name and her eyes went wide. The two Overwatch agents couldn’t help but notice the sudden movement. Sombra looked between them biting at her bottom lip a little, as she debated.

“Can I help with that?” Sombra’s voice was soft from disuse, and held a tiny bit of fear. Angela and Winston held the hacker in a wide eyed stare. Winston shook himself and blinked recovering faster than Angela.

“I don’t know. Lena isn’t the happiest person when it comes to you-” Angela interrupted Winston before he could finish.

“Actually, I think that would be a really good idea. It could work as a way for them to mend.” Winston considered for a moment and nodded.

“You have a point. Yes, I think it would be fine if you help” 

  
  


  Angela left Sombra’s room, leaving the two to quietly discuss how to go about the remake of the chronal accelerator. She didn’t want to be too intrusive, instead she wanted to make a note into Sombra’s file. 

 

_ Sombra has finally spoke to us. This occurred after mentioning Agent Lena Oxton, callsign Tracer, and the chronal accelerator. With the observed dislike Agent Oxton has shown towards Sombra and the evidence that the aforementioned’s translocators are of the same design of the accelerator, I can only assume that they are related. I know that Sombra has hacked our files before, maybe that is the link between them. I will attempt follow up later. _

 

Angela saved the document and sat in silence. Sombra obviously knew how the accelerator worked, she’d also know how important it was to Lena. Angela leaned back in her chair letting her eyes shut. The weight of what might have happened between the two women settling deep into her mind. What would happen if Sombra hacked the accelerator? That thought made Angela jump up with a start, what if that had been what happened? She didn’t waste much time as she started to think of a way to confirm her suspicions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I now have a beta for this fic. We plan on going through the chapters and fixing any errors and clearing up any confusing bits. I'll be re-uploading the older chapters as the edits are done.


	6. Chapter 6

Winston left Sombra’s room with a promise they’d start work the next day. He was just about to leave the medbay when Angela flagged him down. The two settled into her office and she shut the door. 

“What is it, Angela?” he asked seeing the expression of worry on the doctor’s face.

“I might have stumbled onto an idea” She sat down and tapped her desk a bit, in a nervous fashion. “I think I know where Lena’s anger with Sombra came from.” Winston gave a curious look and sat comfortably on his hunches to talk at length.

“What’s your theory?” 

“A thought came to me. Something that hadn’t crossed my mind before.” She paused a moment for effect and then continued looking directly into Winston’s face. “What would happen if the chronal accelerator was hacked?” A dumbfound look crossed Winston’s face as he opened and closed his mouth several times as he tried to find the words to reply.

“I hadn’t thought about that. . . I never set any protocols in the case that happened. . .” He stopped dead in his tracks as he stared at Angela, a slight smirk forming on her lips as he came to the conclusion she must have. “You think Sombra hacked the accelerator, and it malfunctioned enough to scare Lena.” Angela gave a nod.

“It was not easy to find it but luckily Athena was willing to divulge a few details on what might have happened.” At that moment the A.I. decided to chime in.

“Approximately eighteen months ago, Agent Oxton requested me to do an assisted landing. Upon exiting the transport she did not attend the mission debriefing, she went straight to her room and turned her com off.” A pause as Athena let the two catch up to her. “She did not exit her room until late the next day, and over the course of several days this was the case. I concluded at that time that she was suffering from an episode of post traumatic stress brought on by the mission. I suggested that she seek help. Lena refused.” Winston hummed softly before he spoke.

“Can you confirm which enemy agents were on that mission?” He looked at Angela as she nodded.

“Talon agents Reaper, and Sombra were both confirmed by sight. Agent Widowmaker was noticeably absent.” Athena’s response was immediate. Leaving the two to look at each other.

“Athena, haven’t you also observed several odd glitches with the accelerator?” Angela asked the A.I. while Winston looked confused Lena had sworn that it was fine. He’d confirmed it was functioning fine, at least on a hardware level, he never thought to check the software.

“Yes. Since that mission I have observed three instances of Lena recalling when accelerator was not prompted to and a dozen of her blinks being erratic or not prompted as well” Winston connected his thoughts and gave a scowl.

“How did we miss this?” Angela gave shrug.

“Lena has always been very good at hiding things that bother her.” She looked through a few papers “Plus we didn’t really think that Sombra was capable of hacking during a firefight.” Winston nodded and gave a soft chuckle.

“I bet she would have been on one of our recruiting lists if the circumstances were different” Winston said looking a bit lost “We could offer her that, we could use her I.T. knowledge”

“We could, but let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves.” Angela sighed “We have to patch the accelerator's programing to have certain failsafes, and as well as Sombra seems to be coping she’s still has serious PTSD. I don’t want to push on her too hard.” Winston nodded and straightened to stand.

“Maybe her helping will allow her to heal a bit, as well as bridge the gap between them. Maybe they’ll end up helping each other to heal. ” Angela nodded and added.

“We can only hope at this point.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Seems like Angela is on to something, and Athena makes her first appearance!


	7. Chapter 7

After her time with Zenyatta and Genji, Lena returned to wandering the halls of the base. Dinner was still hours away, and she wasn’t ready to return to her room. She decided she wanted to think about her anger at, and her fear of, Sombra. Wanting to be alone, she headed to her favorite perch, located on the roof of the hanger. Where she watched the various transports coming and going. It had been a sight in Overwatch’s heyday, now the airstrip stayed quiet more often than not. Lena wiggled her way out of the access door and carefully walked towards the far corner of the roof, only to find someone was already there. The jacketed form of Ana Amari didn’t move as Lena turned to leave. 

“You don’t have to leave because of me, Lena.” Of course Cap knew of her favorite spot. The old sniper had the  _ one _ to show her how to get up here in the first place. Awkwardly Lena shuffled her feet, and still almost left, but she knew if she did Ana would track her down and make her tell what was on her mind.

“Heya Cap.” Lena said softly as she sat down a slight distance away from the older woman. She’d made sure to sit on Ana’s ‘good side’, no point in giving her any more fuel to find out what was on Lena’s mind.

“Good to see you.” Ana replied nodding her head slightly to acknowledge the younger agent. The two sat in silence as they watched people wander across the tarmac in part of a slow progress to repair the watchpoint to it’s former glory. After what could have been a short eternity Ana turned to look at Lena. 

“You seem lost.” Ana stated watching Lena closely, “I mean you haven’t chattered my ears off yet.” She gave a warm hearted chuckle. “That isn’t like you. Come closer and tell me what’s on you mind” She patted the spot right next to her, and Lena sighed softly. Reluctantly Lena did scoot to the spot but didn’t yet look at her. 

“I don’t know how I feel” Lena answered vaguely, it was close enough to the truth to answer the question. Ana nodded in agreement, she too was sitting there in an effort to clear her mind.

“I know that look.” Ana gave Lena a knowing smirk. “You don’t want to tell me.” Lena frowned, Ana was right. She didn’t want to talk about it, but maybe if she kept the details vague she could talk about her troubles without directly stating them. 

“ Hey Cap, How did you forgive Widowmaker for what she did to you?” Lena fidgeted with her hands a bit as Ana sighed heavily.

“That wasn’t easy. I’m still working on forgiving her.” She hummed softly “But it helped knowing that she isn’t the same person she was back then.” Lena frowned, maybe that wasn’t the best question. Widowmaker’s conditioning  _ had _ made her a different person, but Sombra was still Sombra, right? 

“Lena, don’t beat around the bush.” Ana gave her a pointed look. “Say what’s on you mind. It’ll help more than what you’re planning on trying.” Lena groaned softly, and then sighed.

“Angie told me I needed to sort out why I’m so angry at Sombra.” There was a moment of silence as Ana contemplated on how to approach the topic. Lena shifted almost to stand only for Ana to pull her into a hug. Lena was startled by the shift in position. After a moment the tenseness faded and Lena shuddered barely holding back her sudden sob. “She hacked the accelerator.” Lena managed to mutter before Ana squeezed her tighter.

“I’m sorry.” Ana could feel her heart clench at what could have happened, “But you’re here and safe. You are stronger that what happened.”

“But I wasn’t.” Lena’s voice broke, and she shuddered starting to cry. “I felt it, Cap.” Ana held Lena close as she comforted her. They stayed like that for a long while as all the turmoil of Lena’s emotions let themselves roll. Lena gave a strangled breath, and finally seemed to pull together.

“Talk to her.” Ana said quietly “That will help you more than avoiding her.” Lena pulled away her cheeks streaked with tear tracks and her eyes a bit red. 

“I don’t want to” 

“I know you don’t. I didn’t want to talk with Widowmaker, myself.” There was a pause as Lena pushed away from Ana and tucked her knees to the front of her accelerator. “Give her a chance, maybe she’ll surprise you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All I have to say Ana is such a mom, and she knows things.


	8. Chapter 8

True to his word, Winston came to the infirmary to gather Sombra. He paused outside Sombra’s door waiting for Angela to give him the green light. Angela waved him in. Sombra looked at him through a hologram screen she’d pulled up. A slight nod of her head served as a greeting as she turned her attention back to the screen. Somehow Winston was not surprised to find that Sombra had changed into her old outfit. It did seem to have an external processing unit that paired with the internal cybernetics that probably helped increase their overall power. Maybe he could help the Hacker improve that while she helped him? He’d have to see if she was willing first.

“Good morning, Winston.” Angela greeted as he settled down to sit next to her “We just finished breakfast.” Sombra looked through the hologram again fixing Winston in a gentle stare.

“I see.” Winston stated before looking over to Sombra “Are you ready?” The Hacker merely rolled her eyes, that was new Angela noted. The blonde stood up and picked up the plates before looking between the two.

“You two play nice in the lab, okay? Athena will tell me if anything happens.” Angela gave a stern look, which caused both Sombra and Winston to glance at each other. Angela chuckled softly and gave them a grin. “I was just kidding, I know everything will be fine.” She left the two alone knowing that it would be fine.

 

The walk from the medbay to the lab was interesting. Sombra stayed very close to Winston, and a couple of times he saw her flash on her camouflage when an agent would stare at her a little too sternly. Both times Winston felt her hand coil into the fur on his shoulder. Was she afraid of the other agents? Winston wouldn’t pry, but he’d make sure that everyone knew to be on better behavior later. Once they made it to the lab Sombra reappeared in his sight, She looked a tad shaken and Winston gave her a gentle pat on the back. 

“I told everyone that today I was not to be bothered, so you don’t have to worry.” He moved around her to take a seat at his workbench. Sombra slowly wandered over looking over all the things that he was working on. As she stood next to him she saw an empty husk of an accelerator, an older design Sombra guessed. She supposed there was no sense in letting the parts go to waste. Glancing around the room again Sombra found a chair and drug it over to the work bench.

“So, now what?” Winston stared at the pieces on the table before them sighing before answering.

“Well first we build a smaller housing for the Accelerator and then try to fit the hardware inside, then we repeat until it works.” Sombra made a face and looked over the parts herself. This was a little daunting she’d admit it, but this was something more familiar to her than the what Angela and Fareeha tried to talk to her about. She pulled up several hologram screens before quickly categorizing the parts available, once done she started her work. Winston watched with mild fascination as Sombra drew out different things with graceful motions of her arms and fingers. Angela had been right, he mused, this was Sombra’s element. Computers and programing, that’s what ran through her blood, and while working with them she was relaxed. Winston hadn’t noticed he was staring until Sombra’s lips twitched in an attempt to smirk, her bright eyes reflecting the purple of the screens as she looked at him.

“You gonna help, or just stare?” He nodded and shifted to move.

“What do you need?” He asked ready to gather up things from around the lab. Sombra motioned to the one screen and the two set to work.    

 

The day passed quickly as they worked completely engrossed with the project, Sombra looked up from one of her translocators which she had been attempting to modify. She figured she’d used the accelerator to make it so why couldn’t she reverse it? That proved harder than she thought. She was about to try something else when Athena interrupted them.

“Winston, Agent Oxton is on her way here.” There was an urgency to the A.I.’s voice that set Sombra’s skin crawling. Winston looked to her just in time for the lab’s door to open, and watched as Sombra vanished from sight.

“Oye! Winston!” Lena called from the doorway before walking over to him. She looked slightly at odds with herself. “I need to ask you something.” Winston silently hoped that Sombra had moved away from the workbench. 

“What can I help you with?” He tried to keep his tone natural, Lena didn’t seem to notice.

“Well I’ve been thinking about what you told me.” She bounced up so she could sit on the workbench, and she looked at him. “And I think you’re right. I need to give her a chance.” At Lena’s words a clatter of something falling echoed through the room. Winston looked over towards the source, and saw nothing, Lena also stared at the spot. “Something wrong, big guy?” He shook his head no.

“Just a robotic part that’s ill-calibrated. What was your question Lena?” She shrugged the noise off, not knowing it had been Sombra dropping the tools she had been using before she had arrived. 

“Oh, right. I wanted to ask if you could help me convince Angie to let me try and talk with her.” Lena sighed and looked at her hands “I think it’ll help. You know? To talk to her about why she did what she did.” Winston looked at the workbench, and saw the translocator. Had Lena not noticed it? 

“I know what Angela would say.” He left it there.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah.” She huffed and looked to the floor “I know.” There was a pause, and Winston felt a hand coil into the fur on his shoulder. He didn’t need to guess it was Sombra.

“Lena, I think I know what happened, and I’m sorry that I didn’t catch it earlier.” The grip on his fur grew a little tighter. Lena looked at him in shock, had Ana already told him?

“How?” She gasped. Winston was about to answer when he saw pinkish-purple light reflect off of Lena’s goggles. Lena’s eyes jumped from him to the figure he knew was standing visibly behind him. The brunette's face was a combination of shock and anger.

“He knows, because I told him.” Sombra nearly whispered. “I’m sorry, Amiga.”  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uh Oh. That's not good.


	9. Chapter 9

“What is  _ she  _ doing here?” Lena’s voice rang with a mix of surprise and betrayal. Winston opened his mouth a reply on his lips, when Sombra stepped around him. She was trembling slightly, but for the most part she was holding her head high. 

“I’m here to fix what I broke.” Sombra stated softly, looking away from Lena. It took a moment for the words to soak in. Lena blinked and watched the hacker carefully, unsure of what to do. She hadn’t planned on meeting with the hacker so soon after having her emotions laid raw. A flick of motion brought Lena’s attention to Sombra’s eyes. The hacker had glanced at her, and in those deep indigo depths was fear. Wait, Lena’s mind called, There  _ was  _ fear there. Sombra was afraid of her? Why? Sombra had the power to completely erase Lena’s existence, Why would she be afraid? Lena stared at Sombra, dumbfounded she hadn’t expected that. Angela’s words echoed in Lena’s ears,  _ “I cannot allow you to potentially upset my patient” _ . Now she understood, what the doctor had meant. She couldn’t be angry now. How could she? Sombra’s trembling had gotten worse just from Lena’s gaze being on her so long.

“I’ll come back later, Winston.” Lena said flatly; she felt responsible for the fear that now seemed permanently etched in Sombra’s eyes. With a hop, Lena was down from the workbench and heading across the lab floor. She’d made it halfway to the door when a thin fingered hand caught her wrist. Lena froze. Her eyes going to the floor. She didn’t want to see the fear she’d put in those eyes anymore.

“Don’t. You’re right.” Sombra’s voice was still soft, barely more than a whisper. Lena found herself turning her head to look at Sombra. The fear was still plainly visible, as was pain? Lena wasn’t sure. “We need to talk.” Lena shook her head, and sighed.

“Sorry, Luv, but you look ready to faint.” At her words Sombra seemed to deflate, like she was losing the will to stand.

“I am” The reply was breathy, and low, and then soft “But we need to do this. . .To talk about what I did. . .”

 

After taking Winston’s idea to relocate to one of the lounges scattered throughout the base, the trio sat in a dense silence. Lena fidgeted with her hands, while Sombra picked at the arm of the couch. Winston looked between the two and sighed. It was painfully obvious that the two were not ready for this talk, but Sombra was right it needed to happen. He’d become the mediator for them, but he felt that it was still harder for Sombra, after all she was technically the outsider. Winston was surprised when it was Sombra who took a deep breath and spoke first.

“I’ll start, since I caused this.” her voice was a low murmur, while her eyes stayed on her hands. “When I took the plans for the accelerator, I didn’t think I’d need the code.” Lena made an odd noise in the back of her throat. “So I didn’t know that if I hacked it that it would do what it did.” Sombra took another deep breath, and quietly shifted to bring her knees up to her chest. “When I saw you laying there, fading in and out. It scared me. . . I’d only wanted to slow your movements. To get away. . .” Lena watched with wide eyes as the Hacker crumpled completely burying her face behind her knees. Lena’s heart ached seeing how much Sombra was torn up. She stood up slowly and carefully took the seat next to Sombra. 

“It scared me too, luv.” Lena said softly, putting a gentle hand on the other’s shaking back.

Sombra’s muffled voice drifted from with the ball she’d curled herself into.

“I never wanted to hurt you . . .”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was difficult to write, I'm not sure if I like it as much. 
> 
> Anyways, Now Lena is faced with a predicament, Sombra's scared of her when it should be the other way. Sombra does have a point too this meeting and talk needed to happen. Sooner rather than later. And Winston is left to ponder what is to come for both of them.
> 
> In another note this was the last chapter of my buffer. I had hit a bit of writers block between this chapter and the next. Chapter ten is finished, and ready but that's it. So I might need to slow down updates, but I ready don't want to.


	10. Chapter 10

Angela looked up from her paperwork when Fareeha walked in with lunch. The Egyptian had a look of confusion on her face. 

“Sombra isn’t in her room?” It wasn’t really a question or statement, it was just a confused thought that was spoken aloud. Angela nodded and carefully cleared the papers to a corner of her desk.

“She’s working with Winston today. I figured they could use the bonding time.” Fareeha looked a little miffed. She had gotten used to sharing some of the foods she grew up with the quiet hacker. “She finally spoke to us last night.” Fareeha looked surprised and sat down. Curiosity was going to get the better of her.

“How’d you manage that?” Fareeha asked as she sat Angela’s lunch in front of the blonde.

“Winston mentioned Lena.” Angela replied, remembering how quickly Sombra had jumped hearing that name. “Sombra jumped like she’d been shot at.” Fareeha nodded slowly.

“What did she say?”

“Nothing much. She’s helping redesign the Chronal Accelerator.” Angela shifted through her lunch and started to pick at the sandwich.

“Sounds like a big project.” Fareeha replied as she too turned her attention to her lunch, knowing that they’d finish the conversation later.

 

Fareeha left Angela’s office after lunch, leaving the doctor to ponder over various things. Without realizing it Angela had zoned out for a few hours before Athena broke her train of thought.

“Angela, Lena just entered Winston’s lab” Angela jumped slightly at the A.I.’s voice and then blinked slightly as her mind worked on the meaning of the words. Lena was in Winston’s lab. Winston had Sombra in his lab. Angela froze, her mind trying to play likely scenarios of what was about to unfold in Winston’s lab.

“What’s going on Athena?” Angela quickly demanded.

“Everything is fine.Winston has suggested they move to one of the lounges” Angela relaxed thinking that maybe Winston had distracted Lena, and had allowed Sombra to continue her work. She didn’t think otherwise until dinner had come and long gone. Winston had promised he’d bring Sombra back before dinner. Maybe he’d been distracted by Lena and hadn’t had a chance to bring Sombra back.

“Athena, Which lounge did Winston and Lena go to?”

“They are in Lounge three.” Athena responded and then continued without missing a beat “And Sombra went with them.” Angela deadpanned and took a moment to comprehend what that meant.

“Wait? What?!” Angela jumped up and nearly stormed out of her office.

 

The hallway outside the lounge was silent, except for the clicking of Angela’s heels. She paced back and forth lost for a moment. There was no sound coming from the room. That wasn’t how she thought that this would have been. She had expected to hear Lena yelling, or maybe hear something, but there was nothing. Maybe Sombra had followed them while cloaked? Angela mused on that. How long could Sombra remain cloaked for? Angela had no clue. No matter the situation she had to handle it with care. Even though Angela wanted to yell at Winston for the potential stress that Lena could have caused Sombra to go through. She took a breath to settle her nerves and steeled herself to open the door.

The scene that met her wasn’t one Angela was expecting in the least. Lena sat with Sombra on her lap, tucked against her chest. They both looked like they had been crying. Lena and Winston looked to the door with wide eyes when they saw it open, and exchanged a very nervous glance as Angela drank in the room. 

“Oh-uh. Hi Angie.” Lena greeted softly to not disturb the seemingly sleeping form in her arms. “Me’n Winston were just talking about you.” Winston nodded and looked at Sombra, who had shifted slightly to peek at Angela. 

“Oh, you are awake.” Winston stated, before clearing his throat and turning his attention to Angela “I know I shouldn’t have let this happen, but this wasn’t my plan. Lena didn’t get the memo yesterday, and things just kind of happened.”  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How's Angela going to take this development? I mean everything's fine, Right? Stay tuned to find out!


	11. Chapter 11

At Angela’s urging, and Sombra’s yawning, the group made their way towards the medbay. Winston halfway there split off to head back to his lab, leaving the three ladies to finish their walk. By the time they got to the medbay Lena had wrapped an arm around a very sleepy Sombra to help keep her steady. Angela opened the door to Sombra’s room and they entered and begun settling down. 

“I really didn’t mean to run into her” Lena began as she helped the mentioned hacker into bed. Lena watched as Sombra made short work of snuggling into the blankets, before those indigo eyes blinked and closed. Lena found herself smiling at the other woman’s actions. She turned to look at Angela before she spoke again.

“I’d actually gone to Winston to ask him for help convincing you to let me talk with Sombra.” Angela smirked noting Lena’s use of the Hacker’s name, instead of implying who she was speaking of. Sombra’s eyes had opened, and she watched the exchange from the nest of blankets, obviously content to let the chipper Lena do the talking. Angela’s clear blue eyes wandered between the two, and her expression changed to something museful.

“Lena, I’m not mad at you.” Lena flinched sensing an incoming lecture. Angela continued “I’m actually very proud of you.” Now Lena looked surprised, that was the last thing she had expected from Angela. 

“I-um. Thank you.” Lena’s voice was soft, and she fidgeted a bit. “I don’t know why though”

“I made a few guesses at why you were angry at Sombra. Made a few connections, and looked for more. Sombra did confirm some of my suspicions.” Angela sighed before she looked to Sombra, who’d closed her eyes again. Angela knew she’d be out like a light shortly. “You weren’t angry were you?” Lena sighed, she wasn’t ready for this conversation at all. She still needed to sort through the feelings she had knocking about her mind.

“I’m not ready for this Angie.” Lena muttered as she made her way to the door “I need a few days to sort out some things. Might take Zen up on his offer. Ya’know?” Angela nodded and followed Lena out.

“I’m here for you too, Lena, and I care for you a lot.” The blonde woman patted Lena’s shoulder and gave a gentle smile. “If nothing else I want to see you be the light that helps change the world. You’ve done a wonderful job with Amélie.” Lena’s eyes widened and she looked to Angela in shock.

“You really think so?” Angela nodded and stole a peek through the still open door into Sombra’s room.

“Yes, and you’ve rubbed off on her too. I know you’ll figure it out, and maybe each of you can help each other through this.” Lena smiled slightly, and followed Angela’s gaze. Sombra had obviously fallen asleep with how relaxed she looked. “You’ve already started helping Sombra. She’s resting more at peace now it seems.” Angela paused and nudged Lena towards the medbay’s entrance. “But right now you need to get some rest yourself. Doctor’s orders.” Angela gave her a little wink and the two split off to rest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter, There was going to be more to this one but I thought it'd be better as it's own chapter. Things are starting to move along.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a heads up this chapter is the start of some of the darker points of the story.

The world around her was dark. Not in the way that she liked when she hid in the shadows, but black as the darkest ink and completely unmovable. The darkness was thick and pressed down with a cold pressure that threatened to snuff her out. In retaliation she attempted to strike out at the inky blackness like a coiled snake, only to find the weight pressing down holding her immobile. She felt the panic rising in her throat, along with the noxious taste of bile. Her limbs refused to lift from the icy surface the darkness held her down to, while her body shivered uncontrollably. She let out a near silent gasp, which echoed weakly in darkness. The silence returned and threatened with the darkness to end her.

 

“Why do you not struggle?”

 

The question erupted from some unknowable source. She felt something new press against her cheek, something colder that what she laid on. She focused on that while the sense that someone was watching her grew in her mind. The icy metal moved from her cheek to trail down her neck, leaving behind a feeling that nearly stopped her heart. She felt like her body was going to shatter at any moment, she silently begged that it would.

 

“Where is that fight you had?”

 

This time when the question echoed, she heard it spoken. The voice came from over her shoulder, inches from her face. Yet she could not see the speaker, who blended into the inky darkness. The tip of the knife, yes she knew it was a knife now, continued to move further down her body. It paused over her heart for a moment, and a feeling of warmth blossomed there. The warmth ran in tiny trails from the spot it had started, before bringing the pain with it. The knife moved on, taking it’s teeth out of her.

 

“I know you are not broken.”

 

The knife returned to her cheek, pressing a slick warmth against it. She flinched away from it, earning a hand to her throat to hold her head still. She knew what was about to happen, it happened every time she didn’t cry out. They’d cut her up. They’d laugh. And it would repeat endlessly until she lost consciousness or they seemed to grow tired.

 

“Come on let us hear that pretty voice of your’s”

 

_“Sombra, wake up”_

 

“No one’s coming for you.”

 

_“It’s not real, Sombra”_

 

“Don’t lie to yourself. The defective Widowmaker ain’t gonna save you”

 

_“It’s okay, I’m here with you, Sombra”_

 

“She don’t care about you.”

 

_“Come on, Sombra, wake up.”_

 

“Forget about it. You ain’t leaving here alive”

 

_“Sombra, wake up. You’re safe now.”_

 

    The darkness shattered with a force that shook Sombra to the core of her being. She shivered, cradled in the arms of someone speaking very softly. The darkness faded to the usual shade of night. A slight breeze played through the open window. The air was warm against her sweat slicked skin, and gentle fingers wiped away the tears that had begun to fall down scarred cheeks.

    “They can’t hurt you anymore.” A soft voice whispered to her. “They won’t hurt us anymore. I promise.” Sombra’s eyes looked up and found the golden eyes of Talon’s ex-sniper. The two shared a long stare, broken by Widowmaker’s arms tightening around Sombra’s still shivering frame. Sombra buried her face into spot below the other’s chin, her shoulders shaking with a sob that erupted from her throat. They stayed like that, long after Sombra’s sobs ended, and long after the worn out hacker had fallen asleep. And she slept peacefully to the sound of slow breathing and a slowly beating heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Widow has returned to check up on Sombra. Good thing too. Talon better watch it's self, They made a grave mistake.


	13. Chapter 13

   

Angela woke the next morning and got up to begin her routine. She opened the door to Sombra’s room and stopped before entering. Amélie was lounging on the bed, with Sombra cradled in her arms. The hacker clearly asleep, and Angela felt like she had just intruded upon a very personal moment between the two ex-Talon agents. She turned to leave when Amélie quietly spoke to her.

“I came in while she was having a nightmare.” Angela froze at the words and looked back at the pair. “She’d been whimpering about what Talon had been doing to her.” There was a pause while Angela approached the bed. 

“I didn’t know.” Angela spoke the truth. Athena didn’t wake her for this one, maybe because Amélie had been there? The sniper gently readjusted how she was holding Sombra and sighed, she was getting uncomfortable.

“Can you take her from me?” Angela nodded and quickly helped with moving Sombra so she was solidly on the bed. The two then exited quietly and let Sombra sleep.  They moved to Angela’s office and sat down to talk.

“So, I’m guessing you want updates?” Amélie nodded sharply. “Sombra had been doing well, no nightmares until last night. I think her meeting with Lena might have been the trigger.” An emotion flashed in those golden eyes that Angela wasn’t ready to put a name too. The taller woman had also tensed as if ready to spring into action. “From my understanding, the meeting went smoothly. Even though they seemed to have hit some heavy topics.” Amélie grunted softly. Angela found herself wondering if it might be safer to call her Widowmaker for the moment.

“Good, I don’t want Sombra to suffer more for things that are beyond her control.” The voice that spoke was definitely laced with a certain amount of danger. Angela quickly decided that she was indeed speaking with Widowmaker rather than Amélie. It seemed it was Widowmaker who was fond and protective of Sombra, while Amélie seemed to merely be curious about the hacker. Angela hoped that eventually the two extremes would even out and what would leave behind a single whole person, but now wasn’t the right time to be thinking about that.

“Winston has been getting Sombra to help him with various things.” Angela smiled softly “She seems to be doing well with that.” Widowmaker made a hum of satisfaction before she leaned back and gave a slight smirk.

“She has always had a way with computers, and design.” A pause naturally came between them. Angela shuffled through some papers and looked back at the other woman.

“You were right. Talon hadn’t done anything to Sombra’s ability to speak.” 

“I told you.” The response was quick and slightly cold. Angela wondered if that was because she had doubted Widowmaker’s statement before. Another pause drifted between them and they sat comfortably in the silence. 

  
  


Lena’s morning started with her waking in a cold sweat. She frowned not completely remembering the dream that had woken her. Shrugging out of her blankets, Lena rolled out of bed. She grabbed the Accelerator as she headed to the shower. The warm water a comfort from the chill of her startling dream. Lena headed to Winston’s lab after her shower. She wanted to ask him for something before she headed to the medbay. After a quick stop for breakfast Lena was standing in front of Angela’s office with a bag of bagels, and a couple of muffins in her arms. Winston mentioned food was a good thing to bring with her if she really wanted to spend time talking with Sombra. She knocked sharply at the door, before opening it. 

Before her was Angela and Amélie, their conversation halted by her sudden appearance. 

“Heya Angie! Morning Amélie.” Lena smiled hoping she didn’t sound slightly off. She didn’t quite know how she was going to ask to see Sombra. 

“Good morning, Lena” Angela greeted quietly. The blonde doctor looked a little worried, as if something was on her mind. Lena moved forward to offer one of the muffins, a blueberry raisin one, to Angela. There was a pause before Angela took it, and then Lena offered the other to Amélie who shook her head no. “Thank you, Lena. So what can I help you with?” 

“You’re welcome, Angie. I thought I’d bring your favorite. You know?” Lena started starting to feel a bit of nerves as she worked hard to figure out the wording for her request. “I wanted to know if you thought it’d be okay if I talked with Sombra for a little bit.” Angela gave a heavy sigh, and looked to Amélie before she looked to the papers on her desk.

“Lena, not right now. Sombra’s not doing well this morning.” Lena was going to reply when Amélie interrupted her.

“She had a nightmare last night. You scared her.” Amélie’s voice was harsh and snappy, but it wasn’t the tone that cut into Lena’s heart. Lena deflated, upset about what had been nagging her mind. The fear she’d seen so clearly in Sombra’s eyes last night, it was everything but easy to forget. Lena could feel her emotions start to rile up.

“Sorry. That’s what I was afraid of.” She had spoken without meaning to. She turned to leave when Angela spoke.

“Lena, it wasn’t your fault. You didn’t know.” The doctor stood up and walked over to her. “Sombra’s sleeping, when she wakes I’ll ask her if she wants to see you. Okay?” Lena nodded and looked at Angela. 

“Yeah, you’ll let me know either way won’t you?” 

“Without a doubt Lena.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lena cares, she doesn't always know how to show it. She cares a lot, and that's why she's so hurt. She's also forgetting to take care of herself, which is also normal for her.


	14. Chapter 14

Lena quickly decided upon exiting the medbay that she would actually go and talk to Zenyatta. She’d left the bagels with Angela, and wandered off to find Zenyatta. It didn’t take long for Lena to find the omnic monk in the gardens.

“Greetings Lena.” he said as she approached. She sat down close to him.

“Morning Zenyatta. Do you mind if I join you?” Zenyatta gave a soft chuckle before replying.

“Of course. Do you have something on your mind?” Lena nodded and looked at her hands.

“Yeah. I was going to figure it out on my own, but I think it’d be easier to talk with someone.” Lena fidgeted for a moment as she worked over her thoughts. “I thought I was angry, but I wasn’t. I was angry because I was afraid.” Zenyatta hummed softly and waited quietly for Lena to continue. She sighed in thought before she just let the thoughts flow.

“Now I’m not angry, I’m upset. Saddened by what happened to Sombra. I thought I hated her. But when Angie got me to see what Talon had done to her. . .It made my anger feel very hollow. . .I still wanted to be angry. I do. She could have killed me. . .But what Talon did to her was much worse. . .” She trailed off closing her eyes tightly. Zenyatta laid a hand on her shoulder, speaking gently.

“Take your time. Do not feel like you have to figure out everything at once.” Lena took a deep breath before she continued her voice soft and brittle.

“I can’t imagine what she was put through. It makes me feel bad for what the anger I was carrying towards her. I guess I feel sorry for being angry.” Lena sighed and opened her eyes to look at Zenyatta.

“Anger is an emotion that is hard to identify where it is coming from. It is one that brings the most chaos to our hearts” Lena nodded in agreement “It can also be a tool to push us further. Anger can be made positive by making its energy into the fuel for progress.” Zenyatta turned his gaz towards the gardens. “Genji helped plant this garden as a way to make his anger into something beautiful.”

“But I’m not angry anymore, and that’s why I’m not sure.” Zenyatta hummed softly, clearly thinking. 

“Maybe a series of guided meditations will help. If you are willing to try?” Now it was Lena’s turn to think. It sounded like a good idea, but she couldn’t help feel a little iffy about it. What would it bring up? 

“I’ll think about it Zen, but thank you.”

  
  


Sombra woke just before lunch. Widowmaker sat next to the bed, she had withdrawn her hand from where it had lain on Sombra’s back.

“How are you feeling?” There was a strong sound of worry in the sniper’s voice. Sombra opted to ignore the question and stretch instead. Once done Sombra laid on her stomach and looked at the blue skinned woman whose gold eyes were watching carefully. 

“I’m not going to break, Araña.” Sombra murmured softly “Don’t have to watch me that closely” Those gold eyes shut for a moment while Widowmaker seemed to have an internal debate. 

“I’m glad you are feeling well enough to be annoying.” A playful teasing was hinted as the voice continued “I’m going to guess that you are possibly hungry?” Sombra hummed to herself. 

“What time is it?” 

“Time for lunch.” Sombra hummed again, this time rolling onto her side before sitting up.

“Is Lena joining us? She wanted to have lunch with me.” Widowmaker made a face before she got up and walked to the door. She stepped out for a moment before coming back.

“Angela said it was fine. So yes, She will be joining us.” Golden eyes stared predatorily as she spoke again “Sombra, are you not still shaken from your nightmare?” Sombra tucked her knees to her chest, and gave the floor a hard stare.

“Of course I am. Why would I not be?” A dry laugh shook her shoulders. “But I’m trying to forget it, and move forward.” Widowmaker seemed to accept the answer before sighing.

“I’m sorry that I let them hurt you in my stead. I wouldn’t have-”

“NO!” Sombra’s voice split the air like a clap of thunder “No, Don’t think like that. You didn’t know. And you did what was right. You got away, before they put you on a cold slab.” The hacker’s words held a strange echo to the doctor’s words. “Amélie, please. Don’t feel like you failed me. Talon had gotten smart. They knew I was botching missions on purpose.”

“But I-”

“No. Talon was looking for any excuse to sink their claws into me.” Sombra shuddered “I actually feared they’d turn you against me.”

“I’d never!”

“You would have if they made you. You wouldn’t have had a choice.” Sombra’s voice lowered. “Or they would have found a different way to get rid of us.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay. Work decided it wanted to kick my but today. But I was able to pull through. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter!


	15. Chapter 15

Lena was laying on her back staring at the sky when a heavy sigh escaped her lips. The sound caused Zenyatta to stir, looking over at her. She sighed again knowing that she’d disturbed him for the umpteenth time during their time together.

“Sorry, Luv” 

“Why are you sorry for?” Zenyatta asked quickly, his patience never flaking with her. Lena had to admit he had put up with a lot from her. She sat up slowly mulling over if she’d ever have the same level of calm patience that Zenyatta showed. She quickly decided that she wouldn’t and took a breath.

“You know, I sometimes catch myself yearning to have the controls of a jet fighter in my hands again.” She looked back up to the clear blue sky again. “I miss it beyond belief” She sighed heavily.

“But you still fly.” Lena nodded before she looked at Zenyatta.

“I do, but it’s not the same.” She turned her attention back to the sky “I don’t just want to fly, Zen. I want to pilot a jet. I want to race sound while performing breakneck turns, and combat rolls.” Her expression turned to one loss “Part of me wishes that I had a second chance with the Slipstream. But that’s an impossibility”

“Nothing is impossible, Lena.”

“I don’t think Winston could get the funding for another Slipstream project. She was one of a kind.” Lena gave a soft chuckle “Besides even if they’d risk it again, I couldn’t do it.”

“Why do you say that?” Zenyatta sounded genuinely confused.

“I can’t be properly strapped in, the accelerator gets in the way.” 

“I see. I’m sure the team appreciates you piloting the transports”

“Yeah. The Ol’Orcas aren’t jets.” She was about to add to her thought when her phone buzzed loudly in her pocket. She pulled the device out and smiled seeing the message from Angela.

“Oh, Angie says that Sombra asked for me.” Lena bounced up to her feet and smiled “Hopefully everything’s okay.”

“Be gentle with her.”

“You know I will Zen. Anyways I’ll see if she’d like to meet you later!” Lena was nearly vibrating with her boundless energy which had Zenyatta chuckling.

“I don’t doubt you, and that sounds delightful. I will welcome her if she decides to join us.” Lena nodded and waved goodbye before jogging off towards the medbay.

  
  


Lena stood outside the door to Sombra’s room staring at it’s blank white face. She’d taken a detour to her own quarters to grab some takeout menus of places that would deliver to the Watchpoint. Even after the Petras act officially repealed some companies still didn’t want to interact with the newly reformed Overwatch. Lena was still awkwardly staring at the door hoping that Sombra would like something from the menus. She didn’t hear Angela walk up behind her. 

“Hello, Lena” Angela laughed as the brunette nearly blinked down the hall. She did however managed to jump well enough to send herself tumbling to the floor. 

“You scared me right outta my skin, Luv.” The energy that filled the air moments before Lena would blink faded, and the young woman picked herself and the papers she had brought off the ground. “Have you guys had lunch yet?” Angela shook her head.

“No, Sombra said you’d promised take out. She seems to have become slightly tired of the cafeteria foods” Lena chuckled and nodded.

“I understand that. The grubb’s not that bad but it isn’t home food.” Lena looked to the door, and steadied herself. “I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a bit nervous. Last night just kinda happened. . .”

“That’s understandable. But it’s best to just get through it.” Angela reached out and opened the door, blinking in surprise to see Sombra alone. The hacker was sitting with her legs tucked to her chest looking a bit miffed, possibly over the absence of the other ex-Talon woman.

“Don’t look so down, Sombra!” Lena said in her normal chipper way. Sombra’s eyes quickly found Lena’s smiling face and trailed to the armful of menus she carried. Lena quickly crossed the room and sat the menus next to Sombra. “Don’t worry about the prices, just order whatever you want. My treat.” Angela watched from the doorway as the two poured over the menus. Eventually clearing her throat to get the two’s attention.

“I’m going to work on some things. I’ll be in my office if you need me” The two nodded in acknowledgement before returning to the menus. Angela chuckled to herself she should have trusted Lena faster, the girl couldn’t stay angry with anyone long. She then turned leaving the two to figure out what they were having for lunch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yeey, finally done with one. Writing Zenyatta has proven to be one tough nut. Hope he's been feeling right. 
> 
> Anyway this chapter comes before a big timeskip, don't worry there is still more Tracer-Sombra awkwardness to be had.
> 
> And as always I hope you all are enjoying this little crazy Idea of mine!


	16. Chapter 16

For Sombra the days seemed to simultaneously fly past her and crawl by. The last two weeks had been filled with many more trips to Winston’s lab, to which she had almost become a part of, and daily visits from Lena. Sombra found her time with Winston had been decently productive, and the two guessed the new sleeker accelerator would be done by Christmas at the latest. At least that was the projected estimate, only time would tell if it was true or not. Sombra’s time with Lena was a mix of excited chatter as Lena told her of her day or a mission, and of quiet as the two struggled to figure out a good start to the conversation they both wanted, and needed, to have. Unfortunately Sombra’s nightmares had gotten worse, and it was starting to wear her down. She was sure the stress was starting to show across her face. She’d never been a stranger to late nights and catching far too few hours of sleep, but the mental assault that she went through with each nightmare was more than she could handle. If she didn’t get help with them soon she’d end up unable to sleep completely. Lena had asked the day before if Sombra had been sleeping well. The hacker hadn’t had the heart to tell her the truth, instead she told a half-lie. Sombra had told the peppy brunnette that she’d been working on some projects to help Winston, which was true but wasn’t the reason for her increasingly ragged appearance. She also knew that Lena would catch her lie sooner than one might expect. Lena may seem oblivious to things, but she was sharp at reading people when she put her mind to it. Sombra didn’t dwell on it because right now she had the metaphoric itchy feet. She wanted to go outside, but wouldn’t because she didn’t want to put off any of the agents. As if drawn by Sombra’s desire for action the door opened and Lena walked in. The pilot’s face split by her normal charismatic grin. Sombra tried to smile back failing when the muscles wouldn’t hold it.

“Afternoon, Luv!” Lena chirped, drawing an amusing image into Sombra’s mind. Yes, Lena would make a pretty canary, a nice bright yellow one, or maybe a super flashy Bird of Paradise. Yes, very flashy. Sombra must have chuckled out loud because Lena gave a soft giggle.

“Have a funny thought?” Sombra shook her head, a look of mischief came to her eyes. 

“Yes, Miss Canary.” Lena gave a confused look, not quite getting what had made Sombra chuckle. She smiled because hearing Sombra laugh was worth not getting the joke.

“So, I’ve been talking with the bosses.” Sombra’s face fell, she suddenly looked very worried. “It’s nothing bad. Just talking about getting you a place of your own. Angela says that it’d be good for you. A place of your own.” Sombra blinked, feeling uncertain with Lena’s words. 

“I have no money for rent. No job, and no real marketable skills.” 

“All thought of and considered. I’m just adding to things that are already in motion.” Lena sat next to Sombra, and grinned broadly at her.

“What? What are you planning?” Sombra scooted away from Lena, a little frightful of what was going on. There were secrets here, ones that held Sombra’s fate in them, and the Hacker couldn’t see them. Talon had used the same tactics before and during her torture. She shuddered involuntarily, Lena jumping looking very upset.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.” Lena scooted back giving Sombra some room, and allowed the silence to creep in. It was several long minutes before Sombra took a deep breath and reached out to touch Lena’s arm.

“It’s okay. Sometimes I recognize a feeling from when  _ things  _ were happening.” She shivered and Lena gently lifted her arms gesturing for a hug. Sombra moved closer to Lena and allowed her to loosely wrap her arms around her. “It scares me.” Lena nodded, and gave Sombra a little squeeze.

“I tend to forget that you, like me, are a victim of trauma.” She paused, and closed her eyes. “And that our triggers are very different.” The two stayed still and silent for a while as they allowed the moment to pass. “I was told to keep this a secret but I kinda messed it up. Winston’s going to offer you a place here with Overwatch. A job and a home here with all of us. That is if you want it.”    


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this one is late. I'm dealing with some issues and just hadn't felt like finishing this chapter. I am thinking of going to one update a week, until I'm feeling better. 
> 
> Anyway the plot is starting to really roll, and it's going to be a fun ride. I hope you guys are still enjoying the story and thay you all are having a great day. :)


	17. Chapter 17

After lunch Lena left a bit earlier than she normally would, probably to let Sombra think. Honestly Sombra had been thinking about what Lena had said the whole time. The offer for her to join Overwatch wasn’t officially on the table but it was only a matter of time before it was. Sombra knew it was in her best interest to start thinking about her possible future before she became locked into something. What would her future be like with Overwatch? Would she be thrust into a spotlight and revealed to the world? Made famous by a connection to the the organization, or would she be allowed to stay in the shadows where she was most comfortable? Did she have the choice to go off the grid, much like she had before joining Talon? Sombra frowned, she’d grown used to members who’d been kind to her. She’d miss being here. Lena had also gone on about Overwatch being a family, did Sombra already feel a part of that family? She didn’t know. What Sombra did know was Talon had found her before, and becoming a part of Overwatch would make it easier for them to track her down.

Could Overwatch protect her if Talon decided that they wanted her back? That thought made her blood run cold, and her throat dry. Would Talon attempt to reacquire her? They had tried to get Widowmaker back but had stopped when the death toll had gotten rather high. Sombra had made it a choice to not take any lives that didn’t need to be taken. She could only hope that Talon had learned getting their ‘assets’ back was a waste of their time and effort. She also wondered if Talon had decided to just recreate her and Widowmaker, the thought dieing quickly as the door opened.

In the open doorway stood Ana Amari. The older egyptian woman had a packet of papers in her hands, and a kind smile on her face.

“I’ve been meaning to check up on you.” Ana walked over and gave Sombra a quick look over “You’re doing well I hope? Lena hasn’t been bothering you too much?” Sombra gave a nervous chuckle, she’d never been visited by the elder Amari, just by Fareeha. There was a bit of tension as Sombra chewed over how to deal with Ana.

“I’m well, just thinking about a few things” She wasn’t lying, and she felt that Ana would be at least somewhat satisfied with the response. “And Lena hasn’t been bothering me.” Ana nodded and cleared her throat, taking a more business tone.

“That’s good to hear. As much as I’d like to just chat with you, I can’t.” She handed the papers to Sombra and continued “We need your help getting into this Talon facility, our I.T. people haven’t been able to crack its security. Jack wants this done quickly before Talon catches on that we’re trying to get in.” Sombra gave the papers a wary look, were they testing her before making the offer, or did they plan on using this to rope her in? She frowned deeply.

“I don’t know about this. I’m out of shape for any kind of mission, and I don’t think your other agents  **_trust_ ** me.” There was a moment of silence before Sombra sighed “Okay, I’ll see what I can do. But I’ll need some time to prepare.”

“Can you be ready in a month’s time?” 

“I’ll be as ready as I can”

  
  


A week of training had Sombra climbing the walls of the training grounds to get at the ledges. Lena, or rather Tracer while they training, would leave items in hard to get locations so that Sombra had to use her parkour skills to get them. Sombra flopped onto the ledge that Tracer had blinked to, and laid there trying to catch her breath.

“You know I don’t have to do all of this to hack the doors and cameras, right?” Tracer gave a wide smile that unsettled Sombra a bit.

“Yeah, but I want you to be ready” Sombra could almost hear Tracer add ‘for the offer’ under her breath.

“What if I say no?”

“What?” Tracer’s voice squeaked and it was Sombra’s turn to smirk, at least she tried to.

“I can always say ‘no’, and you know that” A moment passed in silence, as Tracer sat thinking over what Sombra meant. The tricky Hacker always seemed to be at least one step ahead, and she wasn’t afraid to let you know that. 

“Okay, if you do say no, that’s your choice. I guess. But would staying with us really be that bad?” Sombra rolled onto her stomach and looked Tracer in the eyes.

“I don’t know. Honestly Amiga, I’ve always worked alone.” Sombra pushed herself up and took to standing. “I’ll think about it more after this mission, when I know if I  _ fit  _ with everyone else.” 

“Okay then. So you want to head over to the firing range? Get back in touch with your pistol?” Sombra nodded, the movement nothing more than a tiny bob of her head.

“Race you there, Tracer.”


	18. Chapter 18

Their time at the practice range proved that Sombra’s pistol was not meant for attacking at any kind of distance. The range of Sombra’s machine pistol having a very similar range to Tracer’s pulse pistols, the two shared a laugh about that.

“You know, we could see if Winston could get you something with a bit more range. . .” Sombra looked to her weapon and shook her head.

“Nah, I’ve had Sentinel way too long to cast it away.” For a moment Sombra looked over the pistol in her hands, a certain amount of fondness entering the hacker’s expression. After the moment passed the laid the pistol back into the case. “I’ve been through soo much, and sometimes I can’t believe that I’ve made it this far.” Lena hummed and stepped closer to Sombra.

“I feel ya. Between the Slipstream incident, and the Chronal disassociation that came with it, and now the recall. I sometimes find myself feeling the same way.” Lena laid a hand on Sombra’s shoulder. “But we’re here now and that’s what matters.”

“Thank you, Lena.” Sombra gave the hand on her shoulder a couple of soft pats, before shrugging away from the touch. Sombra was still trying to become more comfortable with being touched, and it boggled her how Lena could be so touchy-feely. It wasn’t that Sombra didn’t like being touched. It was more that she wasn’t used to it. Growing up as one of the unlucky children that the first Omnic Crisis had left abandoned, she didn’t have much physical contact with others. Who’d want to hug some dirty orphan on the side of the road? Who’d want to take in another child, when providing for the ones that already had took almost more than they had to give? Not a single person, and so Sombra learned to fend for herself. Sombra must have made some noise or face because Lena suddenly appeared right in her sight. The brunette looked concerned, her face filling all that Sombra could see.

“You okay, Luv?” Lena’s voice broke through the last of Sombra’s thoughts and the hacker gave her a tired look.

“I’m okay. Let’s get some lunch before it gets too much later.”

 

 

A month was never enough time. No matter how many times Lena had told her that she was ready, Sombra couldn’t help but feel otherwise. It was too late now. She couldn’t take back her promise to help the infiltrating team. Looking around the inside of the Orca she saw the other members of the team she’d been assigned to. None of them seemed to acknowledge Sombra’s presence. It was obvious that they didn’t Trust her. She was fine with that. Sombra sighed a part of her wished she’d been assigned to Lena’s squad. She’d at least know that at least one person would have her back. Now was not the time to think about what ifs, it was time to focus. 

 

Get in. 

 

Hack the systems.

 

Get the info.

 

Get out.

 

She repeated that in her mind, her mantra for this mission. Hopefully the mission wouldn’t have any unforeseen problems. Sombra was about to repeat her mantra for the umpteeth time when the Orca shuddered violently. The squad leader yelled something about anti-aircraft cannons, which hadn’t been in the plans. Icy fingers of dread started crawling through Sombra’s veins. No. This couldn’t be happening. . . This mission could not fail like this. . . Before the rational part of her mind could stop her, Sombra unbuckled herself and grabbed a parachute. She turned her comm on and called out to all agents.

“This is Sombra. We are under heavy fire. Cover Orca 2.” She paused taking a steadying breath. “I’m going in.” She pulled the hatch open before she could be stopped and took the dive into the open air.  

 

The wind ripped past her like claws. It took a moment before Sombra began to panic. The wind’s roar drowned out any sound from the communicator, and filled her mind with the wish that she hadn’t just jumped. Oh well too late now. The Orca above her tilted and angled away from the base and it’s artillery. She hoped that they didn’t think this was her plan. To force Overwatch to retreat while she returned to Talon. . . No, Lena wouldn’t let them think that. Lena knew that she wanted to help. And this mission counted on her. Pulling the ripcord on the parachute Sombra slowed her descent. She found her peace start to return as she slowly glided down towards the ground. The Base’s walls were barely visible among the camouflage used to conceal the base. Once Sombra got close that camo would fail, she’d make sure of it. First she needed to get to the ground in one piece.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay, I had computer issues over the last week and couldn't get any thing to work. but hey Sombra's on her mission now. What will she find hidden within this Talon base's walls?


	19. Chapter 19

Getting to the ground was easy. Sneaking through the forest was child’s play. Finding an access panel simple. It took no time for Sombra to pry the panel open, and hack the projected camo that covered the base. Staying still she waited for the alarms to go off, and when they didn’t Sombra couldn’t help but find the lack of resistance disturbing. She shrugged Talon was often lacking in their security. Especially on the digital side, at least before Sombra had joined. She’d patched only what would have been dangerous to her, nothing more, and Talon was none the wiser to it. After a moment she opened her hologram interface and prodded the network to see if she could bring down the anti-aircraft weapons without getting into the base. A scan proved that she wasn’t able to and a frown formed across her lips as she now had to figure out what her next step was. Queuing her comm she reported in,

“Sombra reporting, the camo’s down. Guns are still up. For me to take them offline I’ve got to get in.” There was no response, and she sighed. “If you don’t speak up now, I’ll choose how I am handling those guns.” Sombra was about to shut her comm off when Tracer’s voice came over it.

“Good job, Luv. I’ll swing Orca One back around. Go on and get those guns down for me, alright?” Sombra gave a soft chuckle, newly emboldened by the pilot’s trust in her.

“Roger, Tracer. I’m going in. I’ll have the skies clear for you.” Without waiting for a response Sombra tossed a translocator over the wall and begun her journey into the bowels of the base. 

 

As Sombra made her way deeper into the base, she noticed the lack of visible guards. Talon was always a bit lax in their security but for there to be not a single soul in sight was very unusual. Sombra found the way to the control center without any difficulty, and entered a room that looked like it had been vacated in a great hurry. Maybe Talon saw the Overwatch transports and ran not wanting to be caught. She shrugged and quickly took over the terminal scanning its functions before taking the whole defense grid offline. A quick double check confirmed that every anti-aircraft weapon was offline and that the skies were clear for the rest of the team. Sombra couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed by the lack of a challenge, but disappointment quickly turned to unease as she mulled in thought. Something’s up here, she knew it, but she couldn’t figure out what.

“Skies are cleared for landing. This is too easy. I think something’s up, proceed with caution.” She warned as she disconnected to the terminal “I’ll head to secondary objective, Sombra out.” She took off heading for the location of her next target.  

Deeper into the base the chaos that the base’s inhabitants left behind became clearer to see. Papers and equipment were scattered, and there was little that looked intact. Talon clearly abandoned this base in a hurry, but why? Sombra wanted to know why. As she approached the medwing an even greater mess greeted her. Liquids had been spilled across the floor, the lights off, and bodies left in the beds. A closer look confirmed that these poor souls were the subjects of one of Talon’s many experiments. Sombra stepped back from one body that’s throat had been slashed.Had Talon disposed of the ones they couldn’t take with them, or had they succeeded and killed the rest? She shuddered, ice making its way through her veins. Could this have been her fate? A body left to rot had Overwatch not found her? She tried not to think about that. The room was cloaked in the smell of recent death and antiseptics, with underlying notes of dank rot and decay. The experiments here had been conducted quickly, but had been done for many years. This could have been where Widowmaker had been created. Sombra looked around the room. In the blueish light from a online computer screen she could see about a dozen bodies. There were probably more. How many people had Talon tortured? Sombra tried not to think about it. 

Sombra moved deeper into the gloom, not bothering to turn on the light. Let what lay in the shadows stay there, she decided as she stood before the computer. It’s screen sat at an archaic style of log in, clearly not connected to Talon’s vast network. Hopefully the files they needed where here. She gave the room one more look over. The pale light from the computer’s screen cast a sickly glow over pallid skin and left glowing highlights on the liquids Sombra refused to give names to. Satisfied that nothing was going to jump out at her, she turned and focused on the computer. Hacking it was pathetically easy, and she quickly found that yes the files for both Project Widowmaker, and Project Virus were there, as was a third. She shuddered seeing Talon’s pet name for what they had intended for her, but she felt curious about the third file. It wasn’t one that she’d seen before. She started downloading all three to the external drive she’d brought with her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter kicked my butt. I am still not satisfied with it. blegh. 
> 
> As a note Project Virus was the attempt to recondition Sombra. which if it had been successful Virus would have become her code name. And what mystery is the third file? What was Talon trying this time?


End file.
